FEATURE Image: Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, a collection of Old English annals. The oldest manuscript of the Chronicle that survives was begun at the Old Minster in Winchester, England, during the reign of King Alfred the Great (871–899). The manuscript begins with a genealogy of Alfred, and the first chronicle entry is for the year 60 B.C. “Parker Anglo-Saxon Chronicle” by Nick in exsilio is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.
FRANCE. Thirty miles west of Paris, the 1000-year-old fortified royal town of MONTFORT L’AMAURY, showcases its 11th century crusaders’ castle, 16th century flamboyant Gothic church with 37 intact Renaissance stained-glass windows and homes of 20th century composer Maurice Ravel and playwright Jean Anouilh.
FEATURED image: Manuscript 16th century (detail): Queen consort Anne of Brittany (1477-1514) receiving a Book of Hours from her Dominican confessor, Antoine Dufour (d.1509). Montfort L’Amaury returned to the crown of France after Anne of Brittany married Charles VIII “the Affable” (1470-1498) in 1491. At the north edge of the Rambouillet forest the city of…
FRANCE. STÉPHANE MALLARMÉ (1842-1898), Symbolist poet.
FEATURE Image: Paul Gauguin (1848-1903), Portrait of Stéphane Mallarmé, 1891. https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/337818 – retrieved August 27, 2025. Stéphane Mallarmé (1842-1898) is an important Symbolist poet of the last half of the 19th century in France. Throughout his writing career, Mallarmé helped formulate and express the rising anti-naturalism in contemporary art. This movement’s inclinations mainly took the…
FRANCE. Last battles, death mask of NAPOLEON BONAPARTE (1769-1821) at the 200th anniversary of his death on May 5, 1821, on remote Saint Helena.
FEATURED image: Napoleon near Borodino, Vasily Vereshchagin (1842–1904), 1897, oil on canvas, State Historical Museum, Moscow. Major facts of the life of Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821) are well known. Known as Napoleon I, the French Emperor who died two centuries ago was a shrewd, ambitious and skilled military leader who conquered much of Europe in the…
Two Generations of Estonian Genius: Heino Eller (1887-1970) and his student Lepo Sumera (1950-2000).
FEATURE image: Heino Eller with his students from The Tartu Higher Music School in the 1930’s. The intertwined legacies of Heino Eller and Lepo Sumera demonstrate how Estonian classical music evolved across the turbulent twentieth century, preserving national identity through changing artistic styles, political upheaval, Soviet rule, and ultimately the cultural awakening of Estonia’s Singing…
BRITAIN. Lord Byron, George Gordon (1788-1824), Romantic Poet.
FEATURE Image: Lord Byron in Albanian Dress, 1813, Thomas Phillips (1770-1856). Public Domain. Lord Byron (George Gordon), 1788-1824, Letter to poet Thomas Moore, October 28, 1815. Byron’s Letters and Journals, vol. 4 (1973-81; edited by Leslie A. Marchand). Lord Byron (George Gordon), 1788-1824, Byron’s Letters and Journals, vol. 8 (1973-81; edited by Leslie A. Marchand).…
BRITAIN. John Keats (1795-1821) Poet.
FEATURE image: The poet John Keats, c. 1822, by William Hilton after Joseph Severn (1819), oil on canvas, 30 in. x 25 in., Nation Portrait Gallery, London. Public Domain. John Keats’s first book of poems was published in 1817 when the English poet was 22 years old. From an early age, Keats, studying under the…
BRITAIN. E.M. Forster (1879-1970), A ROOM WITH A VIEW (1908).
FEATURE image: E.M. Forster. Public Domain. Edward Morgan Forster was born in London in 1879. He wrote numerous short stories, essays, biographies and plays, although he is best known for his novels, particularly A Room With A View (1908), Howards End (1910), and A Passage to India (1924), all of which have been made into award-winning…
My Street Photography: Europe 1970s-2000s.
FEATURE image: July 1984. Marienplatz, Munich, Germany. 7.91mb 91% Photographs and text by John P. Walsh. Introduction A Continent Explored From December 1976 through May 2005, I made thirteen distinct journeys across Europe, the British Isles, and Iceland, spending well over a year on the continent in total. Those travels carried me from the volcanic…
FRANCE. “NOTRE DAME IS ON FIRE!”: architectural history of the 12th century Gothic cathedral and its shocking blaze of April 15, 2019.
FEATURE image: Notre Dame under re-construction, 2019. N.B. Following more than five years of restorative work gathering artisans, donors, and planners from across the spectrum of global society, Notre Dame de Paris was gloriously re-opened at a celebratory dedication ceremony attended by the world’s dignitaries, including 40 heads of state, on December 8, 2024. Begun…
The Raw Power and Harmony of the Angeles Chorale Reimagines John Rutter’s Challenging Gloria (1974).
FEATURE image: Though demanding and technically challenging, English composer John Rutter’s 1974 chorale masterpiece Gloria is revitalized through the Angeles Chorale’s emotionally charged, 2012 volunteer performance in Pasadena; their distinct performative exuberance and contemporary pacing deliver a vibrant, active, and deeply personal energy that keeps listeners on the edge of their seats beyond the bounds…
Christmas Choral Concert: ST. BAVO CATHEDRAL CHOIR, Haarlem, Netherlands.
FEATURE image: The St. Bavo Cathedral Choir performs Christmas carols and other seasonal music for voice, many in modern settings. Fair Use. The Advent program (2012) includes well-known carols along with Anton Diabelli’s Pastoral Mass In F Major For Solos, Chorus and Orchestra, Op. 147. The concert also includes excerpts from Benjamin Britten’s 11-part choral…
FRANCE. Dans Le Vieux Paris: EUGÈNE ATGET (1857-1927), photographer.
FEATURE image: Eugène Atget, Place Saint-Médard, 1889-99. Eugène Atget, Photographer’s Studio, c. 1910. Atget was born in 1857 near Bordeaux (Libourne) and after his parents died in 1862, the 5-year-old boy was brought up by his grandparents in Bordeaux. Atget received a solid education and, similar to Paul Gauguin, eventually went to sea in the…
IRELAND. 14 IRISH LEADERS executed for proclaiming the Irish Republic during the 1916 Easter Rising in Dublin, Ireland.
FEATURE image: Cú Chulainn dying in battle, 1911, bronze, by Oliver Sheppard (1865 – 1941), General Post Office (G.P.O.), Dublin, Ireland. Public Domain. By John P. Walsh. May 12, 2016. Today marks the centenary of the final executions of Irish rebel leaders by British firing squads in connection with the 1916 Easter Rising which proclaimed an…
BRITAIN. 40-year-old Scottish KING JAMES IV (1473-1513), king since 1488, walked the world stage and is killed instantly on September 9, 1513, in northernmost England at the Battle of Flodden Field. His successor, James V, is 17 months old.
FEATURE image: Portrait of James IV, after 1578, artist unknown, 41.2 x 33 cm, National Galleries Scotland. Public Domain. The earliest Middleton church was dedicated to Saint Cuthbert around 880 as pagan Danes were then attacking the north of England. Following William the Conqueror in 1066, the Normans built a larger church dedicated to Saint…
From 6th-Century Chant and 16th-Century Polyphony to Modern Masterpiece: The Story of the 21st century opera Vivifice Spiritus Vitae Vis (Revive the Life Force Spirit).
FEATURE image: Lion, Lodi Cathedral, Italy. The cathedral commissioned the opera. “Leone stiloforo di pietra. Lodi, cattedrale” by claudiobertolesi is marked with CC PDM 1.0. Public Domain. By blending the monophonic depth of sixth-century Gregorian chant with sixteenth-century Baroque polyphony, Guido Morini’s contemporary opera Vivifice Spiritus Vitae Vis demonstrates that early religious music traditions can be revitalized into an…
At Versailles: Messe et Motets Pour La Vierge (1702) by MARC-ANTONE CHARPENTIER (1643-1704, French).
FEATURE image: “Jordi Savall à l’Arsenal.” by iJuliAn is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0. Le Concert des Nations is an orchestra created in 1989 that performs orchestral, choral, and symphonic music with period instruments. Founded by Catalan maestro and viola de gamba virtuoso, Jordi Savall (b. 1941), Le Concert de Nations performs a wide ranging repertoire from the Baroque…
Music Revolution of 1800: “new” music of 30-year-old LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN (1770-1827, German).
FEATURE image: Ludwig van Beethoven, 1804/05, Joseph Willibrord Mähler (German, 1778-1860), Wien (Vienna) Museum. Beethoven as a young man, c. 1800. Nineteenth century painting after an engraving by Karl Traugott Riedel (1769–c.1832). December 16 is the birthday of Classical-Romantic German composer Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827). Throughout the 1790’s young Beethoven composed in the drawing-room tradition.…
